Free Dark Realms by Kristen Middleton

wondering how many gallons I’d be using before it
covered the jets entirely. It was enormous, even larger than the
pool we’d had as kids. Hell, the entire bathroom was fit for a
celebrity and I was going to use it for the next year or two? I
decided to kiss Ernie myself the next time I saw
him .
    I stood back up and opened the new
vanilla-scented spa bath gift set my mom had given me. I then lit
the candle that came with it and placed it near the tub. When the
water was high enough, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail,
turned off the lights, and removed my shirt and jeans.
    “Oh, yeah, now that’s what I’m talking
about,” I whispered, groaning in pleasure as I sunk into the warm
bath. I laid my head against the bath pillow and closed my eyes. I
imagined it couldn’t possibly get any better, but then remembered
I’d forgotten my iPod. If this was Heaven, then listening to the
music could only take me to another level of bliss.
    As I stood up to grab a towel, my eyes were
drawn towards a movement near the right side of the window that I
was now facing. My heart stopped as a set of fiery-red eyes stared
back at me. When I finally found my voice, I screamed in horror,
and whatever it was, quickly shot away.
    “Mom!” I shrieked, trying not to slip on the
wet floor. I grabbed my robe and skidded out of the bathroom as
quickly as possible.
    “What is it?” she cried, bursting through
the door, also wearing her yellow terrycloth robe.
    Trembling, I pointed towards the bathroom.
“Mom,” I choked, “someone was watching me in the window! They saw
me naked!”
    Her eyes widened and she reached for the
softball bat sticking out of one of my boxes. With my heart
pounding in my chest, I followed her into the bathroom, half
expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. She kept the light
switch off and moved towards the window.
    “Do you see anything?” I whispered over her
shoulder.
    Sighing, she turned to me and lowered the
bat. “No.”
    I looked back towards the darkness, and a
shiver ran down my spine. I turned back to her. “Are you sure?”
    Her forehead wrinkled. “Yes, I’m sure. I
also don’t see how anyone could be watching you from this height,
Nikki.”
    “Mom, something was
watching me . I’m
not lying . ”
    She touched my cheek. “Baby, it’s been a
long day and we’re in the middle of the woods. You probably saw a
bird flying by – or maybe even a bat. Don’t be frightened.”
    My bedroom was several feet from
the ground, and truthfully, I really wasn’t sure what I’d seen.
Obviously, it had to be some kind of animal. “I guess that’s
possible.”
    She held out a hand to me. “Come here and
see for yourself. Look how far up we really are.”
    Of course, when I looked back outside,
common sense told me that we were too high for any person to be
looking in.
    I closed my eyes. “Yeah, okay, maybe it was
just a stupid bat or something.”
    “Honey, you’re obviously very tired. Why
don’t you go to bed and get a good night’s sleep? I’ll bet that
tomorrow, you’ll be laughing about this.”
    “Is everything okay in here?” asked Nathan,
standing in the doorway in his blue flannel pajama pants.
    “Everything’s fine,” she answered with
another reassuring smile. “Nikki just saw a bird or something
outside and it scared the hell out of her.”
    Nathan’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? You
know, I thought I saw something out there, too, when I was in my
room watching TV. It freaked the shit out of me.”
    I turned to see her reaction.
    “What?” she asked, staring at both of us,
amused. “Come on… it’s some kind of bird. You know, there’s no
possible way a living person could stand outside of your bedroom
windows and look in. Unless Spider-man is vacationing in Montana
and has decided to scale this particular cabin to check us out. You
two are wigging out over nothing.”
    “Still, I think we should take a look
outside,” said Nathan as he turned and walked